COP 17 on Biodiversity: From Yerevan, the UN Urges States to Turn Promises into Action

The COP17 biodiversity conference opened in Yerevan, Armenia, urging countries to turn commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, into action. Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said commitments made by 196 countries must be matched by stronger measures as more than one million species face extinction. Discussions include the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s land and seas by 2030 and calls for Indigenous peoples, local communities, women, young people, cities, businesses and financial institutions to contribute more to conservation.